weird layouts

I'm experimenting with new themes and customization right now, so please bear with me as sometimes things don't look 100%. It'll be back to normal soon.

Until next time...

The Legend of Drakukula

With Halloween just around the corner it's a perfect time to play a themed dungeon. I've always enjoyed theme dungeons. They are usually short and sweet and tend to be really silly. Tongue and cheek is a good way to lighten up a serious campaign.

I've been working on this dungeon for awhile now and I don't want to give it all away before I run my players through it, as some of them read this blog. But here is the adventure hook section of the dungeon. Just to give you all a bit of a teaser.

Adventure Hook
I love a party
Major Quest (500 XP)
The adventurers are a band of ragtag troublemakers who enjoy crashing high end parties for the food and the gossip. They heard about the party through the grapevine and couldn’t resist attending. The adventurers attend this party without adventuring gear, including armor and weapons.

A party isn’t a party until someone crashes it. You and your friends have become known throughout the city as the most notorious crashers of the elite soirees. After bribing a doorman and sneaking through the kitchen, you stroll into Lord Samdean Winchester’s grand ballroom, dressed in your best formal attire and ready for a night of drinking, dancing, and if luck is with you, creating more than one sordid social faux pas for the gentry to gossip about.

The Historian
Major Quest (500 XP)
Researchers at the local university, the adventurers learned that a rare book about vampires resides within the library of Lord Winchester. They convince Lord Winchester to let them look at it, but he insists that they attend his party first. Little do they know that they won't need the book.

The affair may not be your cup of tea, but there is no denying that Lord Samdean Winchester throws a spectacular gala. Rumors reached you and your colleagues that Lord Winchester possessed the journal of one of the vampires of legend: Drakukula. Little is known about this vampire save that he has a penchant for blond women and he idolized Count Straud of Ravenloft when he was alive. Access to his journal would be the scholarly discovery of a lifetime. If you have to sit through a party to get to the book, then so be it.

Good Ole Tavern
Minor Quest (300 XP)
Sometimes the way in is just to have the shady guy at the bar let you in. It's not as creative, but it certainly gets the job done. If the characters don't fit into a set of backgrounds that would allow them to do the above hooks, this one is good for all ages.

Dusty taverns are always good places to seek out adventure. You and your companions are enjoying a drink and a game of Three Dragon Ante while waiting for the opportunity to go kill some monsters when a hooded figure sits at the table with you. "You look like stalwart adventurers." The hooded man says. "I have an adventure for you. Take these party invitations and be at the mansion of Lord Samdean Winchester tonight. There's going to be a show that you won't want to miss." Without waiting for explanation, he stands to leave. "Oh," he says as he walks away, "dress nice".

More of the adventure to come...

Until next time...

I said the 20th of September....

...not the 20th of October. I'm a bastard it's true. But then I am still new to this whole blogging world and being able to focus on this task. Don't take my absence as a lack of interest, because I love talking about D&D. The move just took a lot longer than I thought to get me settled in.

So without further ado, I give you...a chat about D&D stereotypes.

Recently I've been looking into opening my own game store. You know the kind, because many of you (myself included) spent years inside one. These are the kind of stores that have Magic The Gathering cards, various board games, D&D books, as well as dice, Mountain Dew, candy, fold out tables and an odd smell that usually belonged to the guy in the sweatpants.



Many of us felt at home in these places. Not just because they reminding us of our basement hide-a-way (or the one we wish we had for those like myself who never had a basement), but because this was a place where we didn't have to care about anything else that everyone else cared about. We could just disappear into our fantasy worlds.

Unfortunately some of us ended up looking like this guy....

As a result the rest of us got branded with this horrible stereotype that we're all total losers. We're not all this way. Ya I don't look like Vin Diesel (who's on the other end of the spectrum from your typical gamer) but I'm certainly not that guy. Take a look at this picture:

Two out of the three people here are D&D gamers (hint, its not the lady). The bearded guy is me, and the other guy is one of my players. See how cool we look? Am I bragging a bit? Ya, maybe a touch. But I'm trying to get the point across that we're not all the kids in the first picture. Maybe we once were (God knows I was), but we aren't anymore.

I was thinking about this because if I'm going to open my own store I want it to be a place where the unwashed guy in the sweatpants can go, but I also want it to be a place where the girl in the picture above wouldn't be afraid to walk past without garlic and a crucifix. I was thinking that to do this I would need to make sure the place was painted nicely, and used real wood book shelves with a dark stain to make the place feel inviting. I wouldn't put those window decals everywhere and posters would be in frames. I have thought about offering more than Mountain Dew and Snickers for snacks(maybe a panini).

What would you like to see in a gaming store that would make you feel comfortable to sit and play in? What would bring your girlfriend or wife into the store as well? What would make them stay and have a drink and chat with friends while you game? If you're a girl gamer, what do you want? I would love to know.


Until next time...

Some lapses

To my faithful few readers,

I'm not forgetting to post and I am writing. I'm in the process of moving and getting everything organized, finishing my last job and moving on to my new place, packing, etc. is taking a lot of my time.

Expect me to be back to my full fledged posting 3 days a week by the 20th of Semptember.

Until next time...

Is Dark Sun Worthwhile?

I've been talking with the people over at the official Dark Sun website and there have been some mixed reviews about the new world. This has caused enough of a discussion that I figured I'd talk about it here.

To begin, I love this re-image of Dark Sun. I really believe that it boils down to this...it is a re-image of the world. I've been hearing things like, "where are the pterrans?", "Why are the descriptions so vague?", etc etc etc.

Well folks there are many reasons to bitch if you loved Dark Sun in second edition and don't want it to change. But it has changed. Dark Sun is a huge world and people who are obsessed with the original version of the campaign world are going to be like Star Trek geeks, they nit pick on everything. Grow up, move out of your mother's basement and accept that change happens.

This new image of Dark Sun is more vibrant than its predecessor. Is it a little less detailed? Sure. The first book is a campaign intro book. It's purpose is to describe the world of Dark Sun. In short, it is a summary book. This book is supposed to introduce new people to Dark Sun without overwhelming them with details that will just make them think, "you know what? I already know Forgotten Realms, I don't need to cram all this shit into my brain."

However the new Dark Sun has things in it like themes and details on new races and new ways of handling old races. It has more customization and lets face it, if you've played 2nd edition you know that customization was in short supply in that edition of D&D.

What does 4th edition Dark Sun offer? It offers a chance to bring Dark Sun into mainstream D&D again. It was a side world that few people played in 2nd edition, much like Spelljammer or Birthright. It was so unpopular that it was never reprinted in 3rd edition. However, the devoted fans of Dark Sun kept it alive and its now in 4th edition. So let's stop bickering about what this version doesn't have and focus on what it does have. Not to mention that it's been out for like 2 weeks now and it took 2nd edition Dark Sun several years to get all the books out. Stop expecting miracles.

If you haven't checked out Dark Sun yet, now is the time to do so. The world is rich and has lots of unique ways to play D&D. The books are new and there's lots of room to grow with the world without being overburdened with too much cannon. For the veteran Dark Sun players out there this is an opportunity. This is the chance to change the cannon and create entirely new things that will only add to the greatness that is Dark Sun. I recommend going to your local gaming store and participate in the monthly D&D game day. The one for Dark Sun has already come and gone, but there's plenty of opportunity to talk up the world and to show players how great this campaign is.

So stop bitching, accept change and roll with it. Change is good, and we're in a great position to affect the change in Dark Sun.

Until next time...

Quick Hello

Hey guys, I wanted to say hello and that I am working on some fun adventure ideas. Right now my mind is consumed with thoughts about Dark Sun and the world around it. It's such a vast and exotic world. I made a post earlier about burning out and how it is important to keep things creative and different. If you don't, then things can quickly fall apart.

That's the reason I love Dark Sun so much. It's D&D in every sense of the word, but at the same time it is something completely different. This world where the oceans are made of silt, and even surviving in the sun and finding water is a challenge. Most players don't think about their food or water rations in normal D&D worlds. They just shovel 50g every few dungeons and don't think about it. Here it is the difference between life and death. This is a great world to use to spice things up and really get the party excited about the game again.

I hope in the coming weeks that I can provide encounters and adventure arcs that will be inspirational so that everyone can have a good time and great ideas for their Dark Sun campaigns.

Until next time...

Encounter: Silt Horror

Encounter Level 12 (3,500 XP)

Introduction The party is traveling along the silt sea. This encounter can be easily adapted to fit whatever mode of transit the party is using. The party is moving along when they are attacked by a Silt Horror, waiting for prey beneath the sand.

The Silt Horror can be found in the Dark Sun Creature Catalog on page 86. I used the Deserts of Athas tiles for this battle map. (Don't ask me why they used blue to represent the silt sea, I guess they underestimate the intellect of their players.)



Read the following to the party:
The sun sits at it's zenith, and the hot wind blows softly from the west. As you move across the silt sea, the sand beneath you begins to rumble. Suddenly large, white tentacles burst from the dunes, swinging with precision, as if some unseen force is driving them.

This battle is separated into two phases. The first phase consists of the tentacles while the second maintains the tentacles but the body of the silt horror emerges. Place the tentacles during phase 1, but hold off on placing the Silt Horror until phase 2 begins.

Phase 1

Tactics
The tentacles come in groups of 4 or 5 (Dungeon Master's discretion) and continue to regenerate until 20 tentacles have been destroyed. They attack with purpose, trying to cause the most harm to as many of the players as possible.

Once 20 tentacles have been destroyed, read the following to the players:

The tentacles vanish beneath the sand and for a moment all is calm. Then the silt beneath your feet starts to rumble and shake violently. Suddenly a great behemoth bursts from the depths, it's gaping maw filled with sharp teeth. The tentacles stream from its body, moving right for you.

Phase 2

Tactics
In this phase the body of the Silt Horror is visible. The horror will regularly move beneath the sand to get closer to its food. It will try to bite any grabbed character. When bloodied the silt horror will attempt to flee, flinging away any character currently grabbed.

Features of the Area

Sea of Silt - The ground in this area is part of the silt sea and as such cannot support the weight of the characters if they stand upon it. Treat the ground as a Silt Sink hazard (found on page 140 of the Dark Sun Creature Catalog).

Scorching Sun - It is mid-day and the sun is at its worst. Players without proper protection should roll against Gray Death and Sun Sickness.

Until next time...

Adventure: Caravan Runners

The purpose of this adventure synopsis is to provide the dungeon master with an overall story arch with which to pit his players against. I am an old-school DMso my adventures are wrought with danger. I'm sure some DMs have the fear of a TPK (total party kill) but if the players fear that their precious character might actually die, then they are more likely to run from the fight when you present them with a battle they can't win, rather than foolish try to beat the bad guys.

The setting for this adventure is Dark Sun. I enjoy epic story archs that lead from one thing to another creating an ever expanding story. This adventure is designed for levels 1-6 and is used to introduce the players to the world.

Synopsis The desert sun scorches the unwary, and travel between the seven cities can be perilous at the best of times. You brave that peril on a daily basis. You are a dune trader, sworn to the Balican merchant dynasty of Rees. Your job is to guard the caravan from raiders and others who would disrupt the trade route. You also act as a Retriever. Along with a small group of elite tomb raiders, you set out into the desert to plunder the ruins and add to the coffers of your House.

All the players in this adventure must take a theme. The preferred theme is Dune Trader (DSCG Page 42) and at least 2 people in the party really should take it. However, the Athasian Minstral, Gladiator, Wilder and Wasteland Nomad all make sense here as well. Try not to let more than 1 player use each theme to allow for a nice variety. Other themes can easily be fit to work in this adventure as well.

In this first adventure, the characters begin by protecting the caravan from raiders. I'll post a series of encounters over the next week that provide challenging and different ways to guard the caravan. Once the caravan makes it to the destination, there is intrigue in the city. And on the return trip the adventurers are sent to retrieve an item from a ruined village off in the desert.

I would love to hear other people's ideas. I know I'm vague in this post, but it is a summary post and the details will be laid out over the next few weeks. I'm always adapting and changing my ideas, so if anyone has one to share I'd love to hear it and see where it goes.

Until next time...

What the Hell is this?

Alright, so I'm reading through the new Dark Sun Campaign Setting and I came across a new character creation concept: themes.

Now themes are an overlay on your current class. Want to be a gladiator? Sure! No problem. But what if you want to be a magic using gladiator, or a warrior gladiator, or a sly rogue-like gladiator? With the theme, you pick your class; mage, fighter, rogue, etc. and then overlay the gladiator theme on top of it. I like this concept and think it adds some amazing layers of customization to classes.

One of the themes is the Athasian Minstrel. This theme is best for bards and rogues, but it has its uses in other classes. However, it wasn't the minstrel theme that really grabbed my attention. It was the minstrel paragon path known as the Arms-Troubadour. This paragon path is sick. Whenever an enemy misses you you get combat advantage against them (WHAT?! fuck ya!) and that's at 11th level. At 16th level you can reroll certain skill checks and never fail in specific skill challenges if you miss by 5 or less. And seriously, how often do you fail a skill challenge by more than 5? But what REALLY grabbed my attention was this...



Sorry about the blurry picture. Below is the description of the power.

Poetic Flourish
Level 20 Daily Martial, Stance, Weapon
Free Action
Requirement You must be wielding a light blade or a heavy blade and use it to attack with this power.
Trigger You hit a creature and deal damage to it with an at-will melee weapon attack.
Target Creature you hit.
Effect You deal 2[W] extra damage, and the target is dazed (save ends). In addition, you can assume the stance of the arms-troubadour. Until the stance ends, you can make the following attack.
Free Action Close Burst 3
Trigger You hit with a melee weapon attack.
Target Each ally in burst
Effect Until the end of your next turn, the target can reroll one damage die, using either result, each time he or she hits an enemy with an attack.

Ok so this is a little complex, but let's break it down. What this says is that if I use an at-will power I can trigger this daily. So suddenly my mediocre at-will does an additional 2[W] in damage...that's nice. It also dazes my enemy. This is also nice. But is it awesome? Not so much. Then it gets into the stance.

Stances end when the encounter ends or when the player chooses another stance. So for the rest of this encounter, whenever I hit an enemy (which let's face it, at level 20 you're going to hit a lot) all my allies within a burst 3 of me get to roll their damage twice and pick the higher number.

This is legen....wait for it....dary!

Why would I ever leave this stance? I'd start taking extended rests after every battle and use this every time. This is fucking awesome! (ok I know you can't take extended rests after every battle, but christ I'd want to)

I've only gotten about 45 pages into this campaign book and I'm already loving the new classes and abilities. The arms-troubadour is seriously powerful AND it has an entertaining flourish on it for role-playing purposes. WoTC really did a good job with this one.

Until next time...

a Dark Sun arises!

I picked up copies of the new Dark Sun campaign world today. I am SO excited about this world. It was my favorite during second edition and I was very sad it didn't officially come back in 3rd edition.



This desert world is a unique way to play D&D. Expect me to post many interesting things about this. Well it's interesting to me, and if you read my blog it's probably interesting to you too. So there we go.

Until next time....

What Makes a Good Campaign

As a dungeon master I find that I spend a lot of time trying to make sure my players are having a good time. It's vital to ensuring that everyone keeps coming back. But what makes a good campaign? Truth be told that's a pretty fluid concept. What make a good campaign will change based on who the players are. However, in the 20+ years I've been playing D&D I've found there are several themes that make the players constantly wanting more.

1. Epic stories. While the players may think for the first 5-10 levels that they are doing random dungeons, they soon discover that the customs official they helped when they were level 3 ends up helping them smuggle an artifact into the city at level 12. Or the teenage assistant of their employer is actually an evil genius plotting world domination and they don't discover his plot until level 18. When things come back to the party they realize their actions have consequences and it helps create a richer story and a more compelling universe.

2. Compatible players. If you have four players that are all getting along and working together, and player number five is constantly getting killed, or attacking the Tiefling because his character hates demons, then there's going to be serious conflict. Tell him to get his shit together and stop being a chode burger. If he continues to steal from the party, and just make everyone bitch after or during the session then it's best to kick his belligerent ass to the curb.

3. Location. Your mom's basement is not a good location. Depending on your group, the local gaming store may or may not be a good location. If you want women to play D&D with you then the gaming store is probably a bad idea....it smells of feet and Mountain Dew. I like to use coffee shops that have a hip appearance. You can buy food and drinks, plus you can lounge around on cool couches. There's a bar I used to use in New Orleans that had a bunch of hanging vines overhead. It was a great place with open air and a relaxing atmosphere.

If you prefer to use the home of one of the players, I recommend picking the home of the one with the nicest place. Something with windows and sunlight. You'd be surprised how much this can energize the party. I know as gamers we fear the day-star, but suck it up. It's worth it and your pasty skin needs vitamin D anyways. If your party is mostly non-smokers I would recommend picking the house of one of the non-smokers. The smoker in the group can suck down his cancer sticks outside. I currently play with mostly smokers so we're chain smoking during the game. Which doesn't bother anyone in my group, but it can bother some people so it's worth keeping in mind.

4. Mix it up. If the game is nothing but kill monsters, move to next area, kill more monsters then it's going to get stale fast. Entire sessions dedicated to skill challenges can really mix things up. At the very least throwing in 1 skill challenge out of combat and one skill challenge during combat in every session will really keep things excited. I'll post in the near future a more detailed description of various skill challenges that I find really liven up the game.

5. Betrayal. Throw in an NPC that betrays the party in some way. Or if one of the players has betrayal in his back story, make sure that character comes back to bite the party in the ass. Nothing gets the blood flowing than making the players mad at an NPC and eager to kill him. My party recently learned that their employer is building a machine that will end the world and they've been inadvertently helping him. Since the party is made up of good characters, they are rather eager to find their employer and stop him. Of course he's packed up shop and moved.

6. Back story. Players should have detailed back stories for their characters. If your character is just a human rogue then there's really nothing exciting about him. Oooo, I roll to hit...I hit...I do 24 damage. Whoopie. There's no spark. The character is two dimensional. Even if you're not a roleplayer, knowing that your character is a living, breathing entity really helps add to the campaign. It determines what skills he uses, and what feats he takes. It determines how he interacts with the rest of the party and whether he chooses to fight or talk.

And seriously...this is important, and I can't stress it enough...but the "my parents were killed when I was a child by " is SO cliche it is actually retarded. Don't use it.

Making a good campaign will vary largely based on who is playing and who is running the campaign. Trial and error is really the only way to go, but keep an eye out for the temperament of those around you give some of my suggestions a try. It'll make the difference between a fun time and a failed campaign.

Until next time...

Character Creation and You

What? Who? Where the fuck have I been? So I promised a blog within 24 hours, and then 3 months later I finally post. Things got a little out of control in my world. Lost my job, then got a new one. But the new one worked me during nights and split shifts during the day so by the time I could blog I just wanted to sleep. But enough excuses...onward to character creation!

So a friend of mine was making his first character the other day and I was beating my head against a wall for a few hours helping him out. Experienced players know what I mean, and if you're a new player I don't mean any disrespect. It's just frustrating to those of us who already know what we're doing. But we're patient because we know you are learning. And if your teacher isn't patient, then shame on him.

Regardless, there are a few things to keep in mind when creating a character that makes the process go a lot quicker.

First is to try to keep things straight in your mind. Don't confuse your skills with your feats with your powers. Skills are things your character does out of combat (mostly) like athletics, or knowledge checks, etc. Feats are enhancements to your character and rarely require a dice roll, while powers are your combat abilities. This isn't overly complicated and if it's tripping you up then I would consider LARPing instead. It requires less thought.

A tip for more experienced players would be think of what you want your character to be like before you even start rolling up the sheet. I know not everyone is a role-player, but let me say that even for the power gamer or loot-whore out there it's a lot of fun to think of how your character would react to things. Take for example a rogue. You are a power gamer and want to pick a rogue that will roll tons of damage and dodge everything the mobs send at him. That's not a problem, but you can make a halfling who is extremely forgetful, or a gnome who is so obsessed with the shiny that he jumps headlong into conflict without even thinking about consequences. These things can affect how you make your character.

A rogue who is forgetful may have a high acrobatics, but won't need any points in insight. A rogue who jumps headlong into conflicts would want improved initiative or quick draw but wouldn't need any training in perception. This allows you to make a more interesting character that still does enough damage to make your dungeon master cry himself to sleep at night.

I have to admit, I was both frustrated and impressed with my friend as he made his first character. He was making a dwarven barbarian and one of the barbarian trained skills is perception and any experienced player will tell you that perception is one of the most oft used skills in D&D 4th edition. Yet my friend decided he didn't want it. In my head I was screaming at him that he was being a moron for not taking the most useful skill in the game. But then I also knew that he was going for the type of barbarian that jumped headlong into the fray with no concern for life or limb. A barbarian like that may not need perception.

Really what makes for a good character is foresight. You have to plan your character. It's not all about stats but how you play the character. Even a power gamer gets bored when his character isn't interesting. Flaws and quirks make for a good character. Sometime in the future I'll lay out a list of flaws and quirks I enjoy using for my characters.

Until next time...

Coming Soon...

Why don't I have a regular schedule of posting? How unprofessional is this blog? Well let me tell you, I am re-arranging and organizing myself for updated every Monday and Thursday. This will be accomplished by the end of May, but until then there will be some gaps in my posting.

I might post 3 times, then only post once. My goal is to get stable and have regular postings, but my work and social life right now are a bit hectic. However check back regularly because I will be continuing to update.

My next update will be tonight or tomorrow night. I am planning a post on D&D miniatures and their variety of awesome uses. However if the mood strikes me I may talk about something else...what will it be? You'll see soon!

Until next time...

Burning Out

I have to say that I never thought I would burn out on D&D. But I have. I think it's largely because I have spent 99% of my time in 4th edition as the DM and I really haven't had the opportunity to enjoy playing the game. However that doesn't mean I'm burned out on writing. My blog focuses on D&D but it is by no means limited to D&D. Soon my group will be starting a Shadowrun campaign and I'm looking forward to playing that.

But burnout is an important thing to talk about. Largely because burnout doesn't just happen to the DM. Burnout can affect players as well. Burnout is often a chain reaction caused by a variety of circumstances. In my campaign it has worked out like such:

• I got tired of being the DM....so I stopped trying to create exciting dungeons.
  
• My players started to get bored with just move to the next room, kill, move to the next room, kill, repeat.
  
• Players started getting bored with their characters and to spice things up they keep switching characters on me.
  

As an experienced DM, I see the dangers of staying the course. If it keeps running unchecked, then players will start skipping sessions and eventually the group falls apart. I told my players that one of them had to take over as DM every other week to give me time to recharge.

Instead of one of my players taking over as DM for D&D, it was suggested that we play Shadowrun instead. This is a good idea for a group suffering from burnout. It gives the entire group a chance to mix it up in an exciting RPG world that is nothing like D&D. It gives all the players a chance to refresh and cycles out the DM so that the primary DM...like myself, gets a chance to be a player.

However if you're going to stick to D&D there are ways to swap things out so that everyone gets a chance to try something new.

• Have at least 1 if not 2 backup dungeon masters. This keeps the rotation of players and stories fresh.
  
• When you swap DMs, swap characters. This gives each DM a chance to build his own story without interfering with the other DM story lines.
  
• Use different campaign worlds. If you're always playing Eberron, try Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk...or in August when it comes out I highly recommend Dark Sun.
  

Burnout on the part of the players or the DM is a strong sign of session death. Combating burnout is the job of everyone in the group, but the DM should especially keep an eye out for it. Keeping things fresh and interesting ensures a long standing group that always looks forward to the game each week.

Until next time...

Il s'agit d'un Jeu Serieux

This is a serious game.

Some people need a serious wake up call. I value taking the game seriously, I really do. However, there is a point where it loses the fun because people have lost their sense of humor. When it comes to being serious about D&D, there really are only two acceptable situations.

1. When your players don't call or text to tell you they are going to be late or not coming. This is just rude. The fun of everyone in the party depends on the players actually showing up.

2. When no one wants to chip in for snacks...I mean seriously. I need my Cheetos and Mountain Dew!

There are players out there who take a very serious attitude toward gaming. I have seen players who have quit because you killed their pet dragon (my sister...she never played D&D again). This attitude is detrimental to the group because it decreases the fun that everyone has. The purpose of D&D is to get together and have an adventure. I'm sorry if you worked hard to get your character that +5 vorpal longsword of god slaying but if the rust monster eats it, then the rust monster eats it.



People are sometimes too focused on what they lost and not on the challenge of what to do next. The biggest thing to remember is that it is a GAME. Games are supposed to have challenges to them. If you're character is so powerful that he can overcome the challenge with little to no effort then it isn't a challenge.

A subset of the serious player is the rules lawyer. Those players are the bane of the Dungeon Master. I remember reading in one of the first or second edition books (I can't recall which) where it said that the dungeon master is God. This is still true today. I don't give a damn if the rules say that you get a saving throw to be thrown off ledges. I just knocked you into the air and then slid you. You're going off the damn ledge.

Rules lawyers decrease from the player of the game because they make life difficult for not just the players but for the DM. When the DM isn't happy he starts to beat up the party more...okay not every DM does this, but I know I do. Punishing players makes me happy when I'm sad. So when there's no one shoving rules down my throat then I'm less likely to be sad.

I'll be the first to admit that knowing the rules is important. But if I choose to ignore the ledge saving throw rule I mentioned earlier then my players can ignore it too. I'm not unfair. It's important to remember not to have a double standard, otherwise while it may be fun for a sadistic bastard like myself, it won't be fun for the players. And as I have said over and over, games are supposed to be fun.

D&D is a very entertaining game. It requires a level of commitment that cannot be achieved without being at least a little serious about it. It is important not to let the seriousness get in the way of the game. If you're too attached to your character, gear, or the letter of the law then it won't always be fun. Roll with the punches and experience the game. It's a lot more fun that way.

Until next time,

5 ways to make your girlfriend play D&D

Dungeons and Dragons is a very misunderstood game. Many people see it as the domain of the truly geeky, or criminally deranged. It is widely viewed as the epitome of uncool by the uninitiated. Many gamers have to explain why they play D&D when confronted by parents and peers. And it is especially dangerous around the girlfriend. Many a D&D gamer has come face to face with the dilemma of telling their girlfriend they are the ultimate geek. We don't always agree with the stigma that surrounds D&D gaming, but we know it is there.

I started dating my girlfriend Ashley about 6 years ago. When I told her that I played D&D she laughed and told me a story about how she and her friends would find players on her campus and mock them behind their backs while watching them. The gamers were oblivious to her presence, but she was joyfully perpetrating the belief that D&D is really nerdy. It has taken me six years but now she's interested in giving the game a try.

So how did I change her mind? I didn't use all 5 of these tricks on her. A couple is usually all you will need. But any combination of the 10 things below will get your girl to at least give it a try. And if none of these will do it, and you're a gamer in your blood and bones, then it may be time to find a new girlfriend. You may be giving up sex, but that's why we have internet porn.





5. Promise her character a pseudo-dragon familiar at level 1 or 2. Pseudo-dragon familiars are not unheard of and if you make it really cute it can be a big help. Just don't do something stupid like kill the dragon.
4. Bribe her. Tell her that for every game she plays with you you will watch one of her movies or TV shows she likes that you can't stand. I used this trick on Ashley. I promised her I would watch one of her snooty foreign films, or a horror film (I don't care much for horror) if she would give the game a try.
3. Take her shopping. Don't freak out guys. This isn't as bad as it sounds. What you do is take her shopping for her own dice. This will get her into the game by making her feel involved right away. Any experienced D&D player knows the importance of having your own dice. Initiate her into the cult of D&D by teaching her how important dice are and how they have to reflect you. Ashley got a pair of pink and black dice, and it made her really excited to use them.
2. Ease her into it. If you invite her to hang out with you during a game she may take you up on it out of morbid curiosity. This is a chance to show her that D&D is a social event and that it is fun. If you have a player who likes to wear sweat pants and eat Cheetos, apologize for him and beat up his character later.

Take the opporunity to show her how the role playing is fun and how it lets you express emotions and be heroic. But make sure that none of your players are trying to have sex with the hot elf chick at the tavern.
1. Do a weird game. By a weird game I mean do something that is less traditional D&D and something really off the wall. If you can incorporate My Little Pony figurines it will do a lot. I know I love smashing enemies with My Little Pony. Ponies rock. I'm getting sidetracked again.

I got an idea for a dungeon from Something Positive, one of my favorite web-comics. The dungeon involved the High Priestess Cadbury raising the dark god Caw'tn Tayle from his hibernation inside a giant egg. When the party is exploring the cave they get attacked by giant Peeps and have to fight the mini-bosses Russel and Stover. It's really corny, but it is a fun way to get your girlfriend excited about the variety of dungeons that D&D can have.

I hope these ideas work for you. They worked well for me. It is important, for the rest of your players, that if you get your girlfriend to play she doesn't abuse the power of being the Dungeon Master's girl. Be fair to her and don't hold back so that your players don't think you're treating her special. Also be careful not to be too harsh on her and overcompensate the wrong way. This will get her to quit faster than anything else you could do. With a little practice and a little time, you can turn your girlfriend into a hot gamer chick.

What is the job of the Dungeon Master?

Many newer Dungeon Masters would say that the ideal job of the DM is to ensure that the players move along in the plot in a fun and friendly manner. Even the 4th edition Dungeon Masters Guides developed by Wizards of the Coast encourage their DMs to further the goals of the party. The DMG (Dungeon Masters Guide) says, "the DMs goal is to make success taste its sweetest by presenting challenges that are just hard enough that the other players have to work to overcome them, but not s hard that they leave all the characters dead." (Dungeon Masters Guide, pg. 4) But while I do believe that the party should survive, there are times when a total party kill (TPK) can be useful.

I am an old-skool D&D player. I started playing D&D in 1984 when I was just two years old. I used to roll my father's dice for him. I actually remember some of the games. The DM would sit at a separate table with his screens up and the players would sit around the larger table in chairs and lounging on the couch. They played first edition D&D. I still have my dad's books.



When I was nine years old, my dad taught me to play D&D properly. While second edition was available, he only had first edition books, so I learned on those. I entered my first game as a player. My dad wouldn't teach me unless I got a friend to play with me, so I grabbed my friend Rob, who still plays D&D with me today.

I learned how to play on first edition but I spent the majority of my D&D gaming career learning second edition and third edition. I'll save my opinions on third edition for another post, but wow! what a change.

I have to admit, I love fourth edition. It is in my opinion the best version of D&D to ever be released. It is more rules based than previous editions, but it makes things a lot easier and it adds a sense of creativity that previous editions lacked.

I have digressed a bit from my main point. That point is, what the purpose of the DM is. Since I herald from an old skool mentality, I believe that the DM is the bane of the party. The party is the enemy of the dungeon master. It is the duty of the DM to inflict as much pain and suffering as possible on the party. The preference isn't to kill the party. This is because the DM wants to prolong the suffering of the players as long as possible. Penny Arcade did an amazing comic that sums up the values of an old-skool DM.



(Apparently the image gets cut off by my blog setup...just click on the image for the full version. it's awesome.)

To this end, I have devised a fourth edition encounter that has a large potential for a TPK (total party kill). If the party is highly skilled in endurance then this isn't the best way to slaughter those uppity players. However, if you have several controllers and caster oriented strikers then this is the ideal way to put the players in their place.

Here are the monsters that you need:

• Mummy Guardian x2 - Monster Manual, page 192


• Brain In A Jar x2 - Open Grave, page 140


• Crawling Claw Swarm x3 - Open Grave, page 142

This is ideal for a party at levels 7-9. I put together the above encounter for level 8. It creates an xp of 1725, which is 25xp below what is recommended for level 8. However, it is the combo of monsters that creates the death trap.

How does it work?
It's very simple. The swarms of crawling claws focus the party on the immediate threat. They get free attacks on any player in their aura and they are resistant to all damage that isn't an AOE (area of effect). Use the Brain in a Jar to dominate the tank and the healer, which will allow the mummies to inflict as much Mummy Rot as they can on the rest of the party. If your party includes a lot of casters, this will easily cause the mummy rot disease to kill them. If it has melee oriented strikers then at least it will annoy them and weaken them.

Put the brains on a shelf that is elevated and the party will be forced to use ranged combat to get to them. If the party is mostly ranged they will die horribly to the mummy rot. If the party is mostly melee they will be unable to stop the brains from dominating the tank and healer. This gives the claw swarms and the mummies time to beat the melee down.

Overall, this combo is designed to make your players cry. If you prescribe to the old-skool idea that the player is the enemy, this will give you a lot of joy. If you are a newer DM, with fourth edition ideals, then this may not the be the strategy for you...however, I encourage you to try it out and see if the pain etched on your players faces while you maim and murder them gives you any sense of pleasure. If it does, then you are an old-skool DM in training. If it doesn't, then look to future posts from me where I try to find the balance between making the party suffer, and progressing the plot.

Until next time....